Frequently asked questions.
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To view the details of your beneficiaries, please select the menu icon (three horizontal lines shown on the left of the home screen) before selecting ‘Transfers and Payments’ to expand the menu.
From the expanded menu, select ‘Manage Beneficiaries’. This will display all your existing beneficiaries and allow you to search for a specific person. To view details of a particular beneficiary, please click the down arrow next to their name.
Unfortunately, beneficiaries do not appear in alphabetical order. Using the drop-down menu on the left-hand side, you can see account numbers and the organisation to which they are linked. You can also edit the beneficiary nickname. We are working on improvements to this functionality.
Newly added beneficiaries are now available to be included in your bulk payment templates straight away – we’ve removed the validation period.
Special characters (punctuation marks and symbols) cannot be used as part of user references, beneficiary references or account names.
There isn’t a limit for the number of beneficiaries that can be created or added to a bulk payment template, but you can view details of up to 999 beneficiaries within a template.
To create a bulk payment template, you need to enter a nominal payment amount next to each beneficiary - for instance, £1 or £5. This is required as part of the process of creating a template. You can review and adjust these to the actual amounts when creating the bulk payment request. We understand the bulk payment process can be complicated and we’re looking at how we can improve this functionality, so it is more straightforward to use.
We recommend removing any beneficiaries you want to exclude from a bulk payment, before entering the payment amounts and references for those you want to include.
Here's the process to remove beneficiaries:
1. To create a bulk payment request, select ‘Bulk payments’ from the home screen menu, then expand the menu and select ‘Templates’
2. Your previously created bulk payment templates will appear here
3. Click ‘Create Bulk Request’ next to the template you want to use to make a payment
4. Select the name of the beneficiary you wish to remove by ticking the relevant box
5. Click ‘Remove’
Please note, we’re aware that the current process also removes the beneficiary from the bulk payment template. Beneficiaries will be removed from the template on each payment and can be re-entered to the template for future payments as required. We are working on improvements to this process.
The execution date is initially set, when creating a bulk payment template, to the date the template was created. When you create a bulk payment request, you will need to review and ‘edit’ the execution date, so it matches the date you wish the payment to be debited from your account (value date).
For payments due to be debited the same day, we check that your account has sufficient funds available at the point of processing, after the payment has been fully authorised.
For future dated payments, we check that your account has sufficient funds available at close of business the day before.
Please make sure there are enough funds available in your account to make payments that are due the following day.
Online users with an Administrator, Authoriser or Creator role can cancel a bulk payment request.
From the Bulk Payments option in the main menu, select ‘Payment Status’. In the ‘View’ dropdown, select ‘Ready for Review’ and click ‘Apply’.
You will then be presented with the option to click ‘Review Payment’ on the bulk payment you wish to cancel. After reviewing the payment details, click ‘Cancel Bulk Payment’.
A pop-up will appear asking you to give a reason for cancelling the bulk payment, before you click ‘Yes’ to confirm the request.
Approval for cancelling the bulk payment request will then be required by an Administrator or Authoriser.
The execution date is initially set, when creating a bulk payment template, to the date the template was created. When you create a bulk payment request, you will need to review and ‘edit’ the execution date, so it matches the date you wish the payment to be debited from your account (value date).
We prompt you to review the bulk payment request and check the details are correct before you submit it to your designated approvers for authorisation. The payment details cannot be amended by you or the approvers after this point.
Our dedicated resources page provides an overview of each step of the bulk payments process for paying employees, suppliers or multiple other beneficiaries.
If you have a large number of payments to make, our Bacs service provides an alternative option for you.
The approval matrix gives you control over who can approve payments and their authorisation limits.
There are nine limits within the approval matrix to be updated:
• Bulk payment – Per transaction, Daily transaction, Weekly transaction
• Make external payment to another UK bank – Per transaction, Daily transaction, Weekly transaction
• Make external payment within CAF Bank – Per transaction, Daily transaction, Weekly transaction.
Please ensure you have assigned approvers, set transaction limits and defined approval rules for each payment type that reflect your organisation’s needs and financial controls.
Otherwise, your designated approvers may not receive payment requests submitted for their approval.
Bill payments, standing orders and bulk payments are sent by our Online Faster Payments service. Payments authorised by 4pm will be processed and debited from your account the same working day. Beneficiaries will receive the payment by close of the next working day.
Instructions received after 4pm or on a weekend and English bank holidays will typically be processed the following working day.
Before making a payment, please make sure:
• Your approval matrix is set up with your designated approvers, transaction limits and approval rules
• Your approvers are available to authorise the payment by 4pm on the working day it’s due to be paid
• There’s enough money in your account to cover any payments due to be debited the following day.
If your bulk payment request status is listed as ‘ready for review’, it can be reviewed and submitted for approval by another user(s), as per the approval matrix.
If all your intended beneficiaries are not listed when your bulk payment request is ‘Ready for Review’, then the details of missing beneficiaries may be incorrect. Please check the account name, sort code, and number and ensure that they do not include any special characters (punctuation marks and symbols).
If the status of your bulk payment request is listed as ‘extraction failed’, then it may contain incorrect information. Please check the account name, sort code, and number and ensure that they do not include any special characters (punctuation marks and symbols).
The bulk payment request is future dated so it will remain as ‘pending’ until the payment is complete.
If an approver rejects a future dated bulk payment request, it may show as ‘pending’ on the ‘Manage Transactions’ page. Please review the payment status on the ‘Bulk Payments – Payments Status’ page.
Online faster payments need to be fully authorised by 4pm on the working day which they are to be paid. There is no longer a 1pm deadline for bulk payments, which was a temporary measure.
Further details with cut-off times for each electronic payment type can be viewed here.
Payments need to be approved by 4pm of the payment date. Access to approve the instruction does not lapse. However, if the payment date has passed, the instruction cannot be approved and will need to be deleted and resubmitted with a current or future date.
Please check they were an authorised approver when the payment was instructed. This can be viewed via ‘Pending Requests’ (if you requested the original instruction) or ‘Pending Approvals’ (if you did not request the original instruction).
Any payment instruction approval rules rely on the approval matrix at the time of instruction. If the approval matrix was updated after the instruction, you can delete the payment request and resubmit.
We recommend you log into online banking using a desktop computer or laptop computer. This will help to ensure you can view the full width of the screen and all the relevant details.
To activate your new online banking access, please click on the ‘Activate user access’ link and enter your username and temporary password. You’ll find this link under the ‘Log in’ button on CAF Bank online.
Further guidance on activating online banking access can be viewed here.
There are two ways you can authenticate your login credentials - by the HID Approve app or by text message - as our guide explains.
If you have a smartphone, selecting the HID Approve app is a secure and flexible way to log in and authorise payments. The app works even if you don't have internet access or a strong mobile signal. Once installed, you can choose to receive one-time passcodes directly in the app - or by text message if you prefer.
Please note: If you are a QuickBooks user, you will need to choose the HID Approve app as the authentication method.
If you haven’t received our email message with your new username, please first check your junk email folder. If you cannot see it there, you can request your new username to be resent to you by completing this form.
Please save our email address - noreply@cafbank.org - in your contacts directory. Taking this action should prevent our system-generated emails diverting to your junk mail folder.
If you are an Android phone user and have not received our text message:
Please check the ‘Spam & Blocked’ folder on your phone. To access this folder:
1. Go to your ‘Messages’
2. Tap on your profile picture
3. Click on ‘Spam and Blocked’
4. Look for a message from ‘cafbank6039’
If you are an Android phone user and you have deleted our text message:
1. Check whether you have a ‘recycle bin’ folder, or a feature to view archived messages (e.g. under the three dots on the top right of the screen) – these options vary by mobile device.
2. Look for a message from ‘cafbank6039’
If you are an iPhone user and you have not received our text message:
Please check whether or not you have a Filter set. To access this filter:
1. Go to your ‘Messages’
2. If there is a filter, this will appear in the top left corner
3. If you see this displayed, please click to show ‘Unknown Senders’
4. Look for a message from ‘cafbank6039’
If you are an iPhone user and you have deleted our text message:
1. Go to your ‘Messages’
2. If there is a filter, this will appear in the top left corner. If not, it will show ‘Edit’
3. Click on ‘Filter’ or ‘Edit’ in the top left corner
4. Select ‘Show Recently Deleted’
5. Look for a message from ‘cafbank6039’
If you are still unable to locate our text message:
Please request your temporary password to be resent to you by completing this form.
Users have reported that they have been successful in accessing their accounts after switching browsers. For example, if you’re using Firefox you may wish to try Google Chrome.
We appreciate some customers continue to experience issues receiving one-time passcodes (OTPs) by text message. We continue to work with our service provider to improve the delivery of OTPs. We are sorry for the inconvenience that this has caused.
We have heard that for some users, there are issues with OTPs not being recognised when entered online. We believe this issue can occur when the OTP entry field is clicked before you receive the OTP. This is causing customers to be unable to click on the ‘Continue’ button to proceed. While we carry out testing to identify the root cause, please wait for the OTP to arrive before clicking the OTP entry field.
If you have not set up online access yet, we recommend using the HID Approve app as a secure and flexible way to log in.
Staying vigilant means you’ll be less likely to be tricked by scammers. If an email from CAF Bank doesn’t look right, report it to us at scamreporting@cafonline.org
Remember, CAF Bank will never:
1. Text or email you with a link to make or authorise a payment
2. Claim your money isn’t safe, or that your account is at risk
3. Ask you to make an urgent payment from your account
4. Request your PIN, One-Time Passcode that you received in a text message, or full password for telephone and online banking
Take a look at the rest of our Seven Golden Rules, along with more information on how to stay safe in our Security Centre.
We are aware of an issue where historical transactions are not presented in date order, and as a result do not show the relevant account balance. Account balances are available and correct within the statement function, and each account has a statement ending on 6 June. These are available to view from the Account Statements menu. Historical transactions can be downloaded in periods of up to 31 days over the last 18 months. The 6 June statement concludes with a 'Carried forward' balance which matches the 'Principal Adjustment' within the ‘Transactions’ screen.
Where you can view transactions depends on whether they were posted before or after the switch to our new online banking service.
To view or download transactions since 07/06/2025:
1. Click on ‘Accounts’ to open the ‘Accounts Overview’ screen and then select the relevant account.
2. Your recent transactions will appear under ‘Transactions’. At the bottom of the screen, you can change the number of transactions viewed on each page and move between pages.
3. To search transactions, click on the magnifying glass on the ‘Transactions’ screen. You can search by keyword, transaction type, time period, payment amount and cheque number.
4. After you have set your search criteria, click 'Search' to view the results.
5. To download the search results, click the download icon (next to the magnifying glass).
6. Pick the date range and select your preferred file format (CSV, Excel or PDF) to export the transactions data.
Please note: The date range for each search or download can be up to 31 days.
To view or download 18 months of transactions up to 06/06/2025:
1. Click on ‘Accounts’ to open the ‘Accounts Overview’ screen and then select the relevant account.
2. Click ‘Historical Transactions’ to the right of the account details.
3. Enter a date range for your search or download of transactions.
Please note: The date range for each search or download can be up to 31 days.
4. Click 'Search' to view the results, or ‘Download’ to export the search results. The search results can show up to 499 transactions on each page at a time.
5. Select your preferred file format (CSV or PDF) to export the transactions data.
Account holders can view and download up to 36 months of statements on the ‘Accounts Statements’ screen, within ‘My Accounts’. Statements can be exported as a PDF.
If you can't see a transaction posted on your account, please contact our Customer Service team on: 03000 123 456 (Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm, except English bank holidays).
We’re aware that there is an issue for a number of customers with how statements are showing the running balance when interest is credited. Please be assured this is a display issue only, and your balances are correct. We’re working on a fix to make sure these are displayed correctly.
Account balances are available and correct within the statement function, and each account has an additional statement ending on 6 June. These are available to view from the ‘Account Statements’ menu. The 6 June statement concludes with a 'Carried forward' balance which matches the 'Principal Adjustment' within the ‘Transactions’ screen.
You can find your statements in online banking by clicking main menu, then ‘My Accounts’ to expand the selection, and then choosing ‘Account Statements’. Available statements will be shown on the Account Statements screen, and can be downloaded as a PDF. Account holders will be able to view up to 36 months of statements. You can also view and download a list of up to 18 months of historical transactions as a CSV or PDF file.
Please refer to Section 2 of our new user guide for further information on managing your statements in online banking. If you have any difficulty finding your account statements, please get in touch.
As the CAF Gold and CAF Platinum Accounts are non-payment accounts, these savings accounts are not included within the available QuickBooks feed.
Online banking will automatically log users out after 5 minutes of inactivity to maintain security.
The new online banking service uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).